Shark Attacks

You're most likely to be attacked by a shark on a Sunday, in under six feet of water and during a new moon, according to new research from the University of Florida. Sharks are not weekend warriors. Rather it is human leisure that leads to the fewest number of human encounters on Wednesdays and the highest on Sundays, followed by Saturdays, according to the report. The study by University of Florida researchers studied shark attacks that occurred in the waters off Volusia County between 1956 and 2008.

Thousands of blacktip and spinner sharks will swim into South Florida in the next few weeks in an annual migration that yields spectacular aerial videos and occasional beach closures. Up to 15,000 have been counted on a single day off Palm Beach County by scientists from Florida Atlantic University, and these just represent the ones visible from one flight along the coast. Like birds and manatees, the sharks come south for the winter, arriving in December and January, with numbers peaking in late January and early February.

Afraid of being attacked and devoured by a shark, as some think happened to a Michigan man diving in the Keys weeks ago? You've got a much greater chance of winning the lottery. The chances of your picking all six winning numbers in the Florida Lottery's Lotto game are 13 million to 1. Mathematicians calculate the odds of being attacked by a shark at about 1 in 300 million. Between 1984 and 1994, sharks killed just seven people in United States waters - three each in Hawaii and California; one in Florida, a state where more people - 10 to 15 - are killed annually by lightning than by shark.

From Pro Hockey Talk and San Jose Mercury News San Jose forward Logan Couture wasn't trying to disrespect the Panthers when he referenced playing in Florida after last night's 4-3 overtime loss in Los Angeles. Per the Mercury News , here's Couture's exact statement after the Sharks failed to win at the Staples Center for the 11th time in 12 tries: “We could have played in Florida tonight and probably lost that game, too.” You can see why some Panthers fans may have taken issue with that, especially if they didn't know about the Sharks' struggles at the Staples Center.

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- When the hala trees blossom here, native Hawaiians are apt to say, "Ai naki ka mano" -- the shark is snapping its jaws. Throughout the Hawaiian islands during the month of November, the hala trees bloomed with white spiney flowers. And the sharks? They bared their teeth in a spate of chilling encounters with surfers and body boarders that prompted a public outcry for a massive shark hunt to rid the aquamarine waters off Oahu of the snub-nosed predators. The attacks -- including one in mid-November that left an 18-year-old man dead -- sent fishermen out to sea with baited hooks to catch the culprits.

Florida's standing as the shark attack capital of the world is safe. Sunshine State swimmers suffered four more attacks last year than the 19 bites they saw in 2005. That means Florida accounted for nearly half of all the world's shark attacks. Remember that the next time you grab your surfboard and head for the waves. Alert lifeguards are usually quick to shut down public beaches when sharks are spotted offshore, as they were off Palm Beach last week. But many stretches of South Florida beach, especially behind private property, are not monitored by binoculared lifeguards.

The good news: Shark attacks worldwide dipped last year to their lowest level in five years. Unfortunately, two of the three reasons suggested by George Burgess, a University of Florida shark researcher, are bad news: * Fewer sharks in the water. "Humans kill about 100 million sharks, rays and skates a year," Burgess said, adding that worldwide over-fishing has left many populations at critically low levels. * The economy. Burgess said fewer people, particularly tourists, are in the water in such "traditional high shark-human contact areas" as Florida because of a post-Sept.

On a steamy Tuesday afternoon, Hollywood Beach was so empty it could have been a Reno for Governor rally in Little Havana. There were no bicycles in the bike lane, no aspiring golfers on the miniature golf course. And though there was no show at the bandshell, for once there were also no people sitting expectantly in the spectator benches. It was Easy Street for a lifeguard, whose feet were pressed up against the window of his booth as he rested. Even fewer of those few people who dotted the beaches ventured into the water.

It will be awhile before Corey Brooks returns to the deep blue sea. The scar that runs nearly the length of his lower leg still hurts, a constant reminder of what happened the last time he waded through the rough ocean and jumped 2-foot waves under the lifeguards' yellow flags. Swimming with family friends three weeks ago, the 10-year-old was bitten by a shark off Jensen Beach. Scary and painful as the attack was, now he's almost fully recovered and acting like most boys his age. As he displays the jagged, 10-inch shark bite gash that still has a few stitches sticking out, Corey says he'll stick to pools for a while.

Two shark attacks in fewer than three days along the Florida Panhandle left scientists and tourism officials struggling Tuesday to fend off fears that another "Summer of the Shark" was dawning. In 2001, a spate of gruesome shark attacks in Florida sparked a worldwide media frenzy. But by summer's end, it became clear that the actual number of shark attacks was running slightly below average. Then the truly frightening story of Sept. 11 broke, and the sensational treatment of shark bites was widely panned as an overreaction.

In the backyard of an historical home on Ocean Boulevard in Delray Beach, three nurse sharks share the swimming pool with a stone crab, a leopard puffer fish and several bonefish. The sharks crowd the steps, thrashing to get their portions of slimy red heron heads and squid to the delight of the crowd around the pool. The Sandoway House Nature Center recently kicked off its annual Shark Months. It's a hands-on education and conservation awareness event that piggybacks off its daily shark feedings.

Thousands of sharks on their northern migration came disturbingly close to Palm Beach County beaches this week, leading to several closures but no reports of bites. Lifeguards ordered swimmers out of the water on Thursday at Ocean Inlet Park, just south of the Boynton Beach Inlet. Temporary closures went into effect earlier in the week at Ocean Reef on Singer Island, Gulf Stream Park and South Inlet Park. Ocean Rescue Lt. Brian McManus said the Ocean Inlet beach was closed after five sharks came within 10 or 15 feet of shore and many more were spotted farther out. Such closures are issued at the discretion of the lifeguards on the scene, said Dave Lill, the county's aquatics director.

The sharks stream in the thousands up South Florida's coast, a sight that might terrify the people playing in the surf less than a football field away. From a Cessna 172 flying slowly along the beach, Stephen Kajiura videotapes this procession of oceanic predators as they engage in their annual migration from North Carolina. Kajiura, an associate professor of biology at Florida Atlantic University, is conducting the first systematic study of the migrations of blacktip sharks, a pattern that has led lifeguards to close beaches and may be linked to increases in shark bites.

A surfer in Florida's Space Coast is recovering from a bite to the hand by a shark. The 32-year-old man suffered a small wound to his hand Tuesday morning. The surfer told authorities he was paddling out from shore at Melbourne Beach when he placed his hand in the water and felt a bite. His hand was treated by paramedics at the beach, and he didn't need to be taken to a hospital. Brevard County officials say it was the first reported shark bite of the year for Florida's Space Coast.

Al Brenneka lost an arm to a lemon shark in 1976 while surfing off Delray Beach . But now he has become an advocate for shark conservation, and he will tell his story Wednesday evening as part of the Discovery Channel's Shark Week . Shark Week , now in its 25 t h year, is a hugely popular event, inspiring watching parties around the world. But it has drawn criticism from many scientists and conservation groups, who say the series whips up fear at a time when sharks are suffering sharp worldwide declines from the demand in Asia for shark-fin soup.

Animal Planet's River Monsters series, which has chronicled fearsome species such as the piranha and the Nile crocodile, will air a segment filmed in South Florida's Indian River Lagoon. The lagoon, which stretches from northern Palm Beach County through Volusia County, attracts vast numbers of bull sharks to give birth, becoming a place “where unsuspecting water enthusiasts are faced with what could become a modern day Jaws,” according to the show's promoters. Bull sharks are known for their ability to tolerate fresh water, in some case traveling hundreds of miles up rivers.

Time magazine proclaimed it "The Summer of the Shark." The Discovery Channel is featuring "Shark Week!" And last week CNN added to the media feeding frenzy by broadcasting the image of hundreds of the predators swarming off the Gulf Coast last week. In Florida, it's all sharks all the time. A rash of gruesome shark attacks -- covered breathlessly by the media -- have fueled the most intense public fascination with the creatures since Jaws, the movie that defined our fear of being eaten alive, more than 25 years ago. But despite all the attention, experts insist, there have not been more shark attacks than usual this year.

lthough shark attacks in the U.S. declined in 2011, worldwide fatalities (12 deaths) reached a two-decade high, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File report released today, reports the University of Florida News. Florida led the states with a total of 11 attacks. Additional U.S. attacks were recorded in Alabama (2), North Carolina (4), California (3), Texas (2), South Carolina (2), Hawaii (3), and Oregon (2), according to the report. And, once again, Volusia County led the state with six attacks in 2011, keeping its reputation as shark bite capital of the world intact for another year.